Comments on: almond macaroon torte with chocolate frosting

By: Aly

Aly — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 13:38:56 +0000

Made this yesterday for a birthday celebration tonight, looks great. I found putting the batter in a ziploc and piping it onto the stencils worked really well.

By: Kristin

Kristin — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 07:22:19 +0000

I just made this beautiful torte but wished I had read the comments first. My macaroon layers came out great but my chocolate seized! I used 3/4 Ghiradelli bittersweet chips and 1/4 Ikea dark chocolate. I suspect the chips are the culprit in the seizing. Don’t they add something to the chips to help them maintain their shape when heated?

By: Sarah B

Sarah B — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 19:10:43 +0000

Regarding spraying the parchment paper:

I didn’t and I had no problem.

Once they were completely cool, I cut each piece of parchment in half (between the layers), flipped the four pieces over and peeled the paper back.

By: deb

deb — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 22:05:32 +0000

I was going to say that I hadn’t believed it would happen either but I measured it when I made this (but it sounded argumentative, which, eh…). I think that sugar becomes a liquid upon hitting heat (i.e. it also adds moisture, not just sweetness, to baked goods as evidenced by cakes with reduced sugar that seem dry). Anyway, simple syrup is great for natural sodas, lemonade and cocktails (and cocktails with natural soda and/or lemonade!).

By: Sengkelat

Sengkelat — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 21:58:00 +0000

Um, not that you didn’t know this, Deb, but you’re totally right. My mind is blown.

Now I just need to figure out something yummy to do with 190 ml of simple syrup.

By: Sengkelat

Sengkelat — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 21:46:59 +0000

I always thought dissolved sugar didn’t add to volume. Perhaps my grade school science teacher was wrong. I’ll experiment and see for myself.

Thanks, by the way, for such an attractive dairy and gluten free recipe; before finding it I was at a bit of a loss for what to make for highly allergic friends; all my dessert standbys are full of flour and butter.

By: Sarah B

Sarah B — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 21:43:39 +0000

I’m serving this tomorrow night; I can’t wait to try it. The teeny pieces I trimmed off the layers taste amazing and my apartment smells amazing. Thank you!

By: Sengkelat

Sengkelat — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 21:38:13 +0000

I ignored the pointless step of removing all the syrup from the pan tablespoon by tablespoon then adding it back; I just dumped the chocolate in and stirred.
The frosting was a good consistency and I had no problems with seizing, using Guittard 60% cacao chips. I added orange extract before boiling per the instructions, but all the flavor seems to have boiled off. I expect adding the extract after boiling would work much better.

Also, I used insulated trays for the macaroons which meant the tops got very brown but the bottoms were wet and sticky; I had to de-paper them, flip them and bake them some more. My mistake using insulated trays.

It turned out very pretty
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sengkelat/6359439183
but it seems like it’s going to be pretty bland.

By: deb

deb — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 03:05:37 +0000

1/2 cup sugar + 1/2 cup water makes more than 1/2 cup of simple syrup. You’ll have enough.

By: Sengkelat

Sengkelat — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 01:35:19 +0000

I’m a little unsure how one can take 10 tbsp from 1/2 cup of sugar water and discard the rest. 10 tbsp is MORE than 1/2 cup. Did you mean teaspoons? Or more than 1/2 cup water?